Instructions

ZOOM IN by clicking on the page. A slider will appear, allowing you to adjust your zoom level. Return to the original size by clicking on the page again.

MOVE the page around when zoomed in by dragging it.

ADJUST the zoom using the slider on the top right.

ZOOM OUT by clicking on the zoomed-in page.

SEARCH by entering text in the search field and click on "In This Issue" or "All Issues" to search the current issue or the archive of back issues
respectively.

PRINT by clicking on thumbnails to select pages, and then press the
print button.

SHARE this publication and page.

ROTATE PAGE allows you to turn pages 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise.Click on the page to return to the original orientation. To zoom in on a rotated page, return the page to its original orientation, zoom in, and
then rotate it again.

CONTENTS displays a table of sections with thumbnails and descriptions.

ALL PAGES displays thumbnails of every page in the issue. Click on
a page to jump.

46
is also very distinct in the wild.
White sage tends to have a bush-like
appearance. Dead, dry leaves can
almost always be found littering the
ground beneath or on dead branch
tips. Like Mugwort, tightly twist or
bind a handful of dry leaves and they
will smolder easily once hit with a
focal point.
MULLEIN
Besides its pith (mentioned earlier),
mullein offers a seconds smoldering
element – dry leaves. Mullein leaves
are very fuzzy and are a prime can-
didate for toilet paper when fresh and
green. Mullein has a two year life
cycle. The first year it produces a
low rosette of large fuzzy leaves.
The second year it grows a tall cen-
tral flower stalk adorned with small
yellow flowers at the top. When dry,
the leaves from either year are per-
fect for smoldering solar tinder. Like
most smoldering leafy tinder,
Mullein leaves should be twisted and
tightly bound to properly establish a
smoldering ember.
BEECH TREE SOOTY MOLD
When aphids feed on beech tree
sap, they secret a substance called
honeydew. It’s basically aphid poop,
and it is rich in sugar content. This
gooey sugary substance also happens
to be the perfect breeding ground for
black sooty mold. Black sooty mold
will look like a golf ball (or larger)
sized cluster of black crust on beech
branches. When dry, this black cluster
makes an excellent medium for solar
smoldering embers. And, it is
BLACK, which is always a good
thing when it comes to solar tinder.
CHARCOAL
Dark charred pieces of wood
from past fires make really good
solar ember candidates. Similar to
char cloth, one can develop a nice
little ember on dry charred wood
with little effort using an improvised
solar lens.
Now that you understand the
importance of choosing a smoldering
solar fire-starting tinder, it’s neces-
sary to understand a variety of ways
to ignite it using a low powered or
improvised magnifying lens or re-
flective parabolic mirror.
Beech tree sooty mold nodule
A FEW MAN MADE
SMOLDER TINDERS
Coffee: Ground roasted coffee
beans make a decent solar fire start-
ing tinder. Gather the grounds into
a small pile and hit with a focal
point to develop a smoldering
ember that will grow on its own.
Tea: The dry pulverized tea inside
of tea bags is very similar to rabbit
and deer pellets and makes an excel-
lent smoldering tinder when shaped
into a dense pile.
Cigarette butts: Tobacco leaves
are a smoldering tinder and the little
bits of tobacco left in cigarette butts
can be gathered together and used
for a smoldering ember.
Char cloth: Char cloth is hands
down the best solar fire starting tin-
der. Its consistency and color make
it the absolutely perfect solar
medium. It smolders entirely on its
own once ignited. (See the included
instructions about how to make char
cloth).
PLANNING FOR FUTURE
FIRES WITH CHAR CLOTH
Char cloth is made by charring
100 percent natural materials. This
was the fire tinder of choice for
mountain men in the 1800s because
it can be ignited with just the tiny
spark from flint and steel. While
dried grasses and punk wood were
charred for tinder, cotton fabric is
the material of choice. It is highly
likely someone will be wearing
something made of cotton in a sudden
and unexpected survival scenario.
Making char cloth requires already
having a fire. Thus, when making
char cloth, one plans for future
fires. Char cloth is one of the best
solar smoldering tinder options and
is easily made using a small metal
container. An empty Altoids tin is
perfect for this. Start by placing
several 2” x 2” square pieces of 100
percent natural fiber fabric into the
empty metal container. A pin hole
should be punctured through the top
of the lid to allow the escape of
volatile gases while the material
chars. Place the tin with the cotton
inside into the fire. Smoke should
be seen escaping from the small
hole while the material chars.
When the smoke stops after just a
couple of minutes, the charring
process is complete. Remove the
tin container and let it cool. Inside,
there will be a charred and car-
bonized version of the cotton mate-
rial. It should be black in color and
fragile to the touch. It now has an
entirely different chemical make-up
and will readily ignite from a spark
or solar focal point.
Charred denim squares after the
‘charring’ process is complete